Halloween Recipes to Share

This year there were some real uncertainty surrounding our Annual Adult Pot Luck Costume Halloween Party. Plans were made, and that’s a good thing considering. We needed plans, even in the face of loss.

My youngest sister has an amazing bunch of friends. Since returning to California, these people have taken us in and together we are a fun bunch of crazies. It doesn’t matter – Halloween, New Year’s Eve, Labor Day – or birthdays. It’s the same cast of wacky characters.

It’s important to socalize when you are grieving. Recently, our middle sister past into the next phase of eternal existance. I know, to some it might seem insensitive, to those on the outside looking in, that we went ahead with our party plans. When you loose someone, that person wants you to go on. They want you to find joy in life, to laugh and to imagine them there, with you in spirit. Life goes on. And memories are made to look back on when we find ourselves alone. The human connection is a necessary part of grief and healing. I am grateful for this wacky bunch of supporters. It was nice not to cry for a while. But the saddness never fully leaves you, dispite the smiles and glasses raised in good cheer.

Enough of that gloom! You know me, I really had to whittle down the choices for this year’s potluck menu. The nice thing about having so many ideas floating around in your head is that you can pass a few along to others. Such as the Dead Man’s Bones Kiddo and I did a few years back for another party.

With everything going on in our lives, I needed to keep this year’s contributions down to those that I could whip up at the very last minutes. Here’s what I came up with. If you are looking for some last minute ideas, maybe these will work for you, too.

My Halloween Pot Luck Party Contributions
Cabbage Head Medusa
Pumpkin Spew Vegetable Dip Platter
Spider Web Layer Dip Board
Eyeball Cupcakes

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Cabbage Head Medusa
16 oz Colored Tortellini
1 bottle Zesty Italian Dressing
1 head Purple Cabbage (Medusa’s head)
1 small can Jumbo Black Olives (eyes)
1 small Red Pepper (nose)
1 small Cherry Tomato (mouth)
Bamboo Skewers as needed
16 oz sliced Salami
4 oz sliced Pepperoni

Cook Tortellini according to package directions. Drain well, run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Place tortellini in a gallon-size ziplock bag. Pour Italian Dressing over the tortellini. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Place cabbage head on a serving platter, root or bottom end facing down. Trim as necessary to stabalize the “head”. With a sharp vegetable knife, cut circles for the eyes, a small hole for the nose and a circle for the mouth as desired. Place black olives in the holes for the eyes, the pepper for the nose and the tomato for the mouth. Set Medusa’s head aside.

Remove tortellini from refrigerator, drain. Thread tortellini randomly on the skewers. Stick a black olive randomly on the ends of some of the skewers, but not all. Insert the skewers into the cabbage head. Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Arrange slices of salama and pepperoni as desired around the base of the head to complete the “Italian” feast.

Pumpkin Spew Vegetable Dip Platter
Vegetable Dip Spew
8 oz Sour Cream
1 envelope Vegetable Soup Mix
½ cup Mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh Dill
2 tablespoons Dried Onion Flakes
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

In a bowl, mix sour cream, dried vegetable soup mix and mayonnaise. Snip dill, add to the dip. Stir in onion flakes and Worcestershire Sauce. Taste, adjust with additional dill or onion flakes as desired.

Vegetable Platter
8 oz Broccoli Florets
8 oz Cauliflower Florets
8 oz Celery Sticks
8 oz Snow Peas
8 oz Baby Carrots
1 pint Grape Tomatoes
Handful Cherry Tomatoes
Handful Black Olives
1 small Pumpkin

Cut vegetables as needed into bite-size pieces. Arrange the vegetables around a serving platter, leaving the center empty for the dip spew.

Draw a face on the small pumpkin, carve out a mouth. Place the pumpkin at one end of the platter. Fill the center of the platter with vegetable dip, spreading dip into the pumpkin’s mouth.

Keep chilled until ready to serve.

Spider Web Layer Dip Board
Layered Dip
1 (10.5 oz) can Refried Beans
1-1/2 cups Chunky Tomato Salsa
1-1/2 cups Sour Cream, divided
2 tablespoons Taco Seasoning Mix
1 bunch Green Onions, divided
1 cup shredded Colby Cheese, divided
1-1/2 cups Guacamole
6 Cherry Tomatoes, quartered
1 (6 oz) can medium Black Olives for spiders

Warm refried beans in a bowl in the microwave for a few minutes to make it easier to spread. Spread beans in an even layer in the bottom of a round serving bowl. Top bean layer with a layer of salsa.

Reserve 1/4-cup sour cream to create the spider web. Place the reserved sour cream in a squeeze bottle of plastic bag with a small hole for piping. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, which remaining sour cream with 2 tablespoon of taco seasoning or to taste. Spread the seasoned sour cream in an even layer over the salsa.

Next, chop the green onions and sprinkle over the sour cream layer, then scatter the cheese over the green onions. Gently spread the prepared guacamole over the cheese for a final layer that is green.

Use the reserved sour cream to draw a spider web design on top of the guacamole. Start by drawing 4 crossing straight long lines. Then between the lines, make four arch lines, connecting them all the way around the web.

Garnish the rim of the dip with more shredded cheese, cherry tomato quarters, sliced black olives and chopped green onions.

To make the olive spiders, slice a whole olive in half lengthwise. Use one half for the body of the spider. Place in on the sour cream spider web design. Thinly slice the other half to create the spider’s legs. Repeat for more spiders as desired.

Serving Board
8 oz Tomato Salsa
8 oz Salsa Verde
1 bag Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
1 bag Yellow or White Corn Tortilla chips
1 bag Mini Bell Peppers

To make the board, place the prepared Spider Web Dip in the center of an 18-inch by 12-inch wood board or tray. Place the tomato salsa and salsa verde in small dip bowls on opposite sided of the layered dip.

Arrange blue corn and yellow or white corn tortilla chips on the top and bottom of the board. Slice mini bell peppers, removing seeds. Arrange peppers on either side of the layered dip.

Serve layered dip with chips and bell peppers for dipping and enjoy.

Eyeball Cupcakes
Cupcakes
3 Eggs
1/3 cup Vegetable Oil
1/2 cup Water
1 box Vanilla Cake Mix
1/2 cup Milk
Tasteless Red Food Coloring as desired

Bring eggs to room temperature. Heat oven to 325-degrees. Line 2 Twelve-Cup muffin tins with cupcake liners. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat eggs until pail. Add oil. Beat until frothy. Add water and cake mix, beat until moist, about 30 seconds. With mixer on medium-low speed, add milk in a steady stream.

Stop mixer, add food coloring, mixing between additions until a deep shade of red is achieved. Increase speed to medium-high, beat cupcake batter for 2 minutes.

Using a cupcake or ice cream scoop, fill liked muffin tins three-quarters full. Place in the heated oven to bake for about 12 minutes or until tester inserted in the middle of a cupcake in the middle of the pan comes out clean.

Let cupcakes cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Gently remove from pans and let cupcakes cool completely.

Nutella Buttercream Frosting
2 cups Powdered Sugar
3/4 cup Butter, room temperature
1-1/2 cups Nutella
2 tablespoon Milk or as needed
Black Food Coloring as desired
Gummy Eyeballs

Sift powdered sugar, set aside.

Beat butter until smooth. Add Nutella, beat together until combined completely. Slowly add powdered sugar, mixing between additions until combined. Add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until desired frosting consistency is achieved. Add food coloring until desired “dark” color is reached.

Fit a pasty bag with a star tip. Fill the bag with frosting, pipe as desired on top of the cupcakes. Just before serving, place gummy eyeballs on top of frosting as desired.

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Our God is the God of salvation